[NoRegrets :)]

As you can probably tell from the title, I really want to study Pharmacy but I really want to study Midwifery aswel.

Pharmacy Pro's
More respectable job (in my opinion)
Higher salary
Very academic, constantly learning about really interesting things.
Could go on to do research or graduate medicine.

Pharmacy Con's
Will have to move away
To be honest I'm getting a bit fed up with lab work
Will be a constant workload and stress for 4 years.

Midwifery Pro's
Love the job and what it involves
Can study quite close to home and be comfortable.
Won't be as much hard work and can actually have a life while studying.
50% practical, 50% theory.
3 year degree.
Bursary.

Midwifery Con's
Easier degree so not respected as much
Long shift patterns
May regret it later on in life
I feel that if I am capable to do a harder degree I should be doing so.


As you can see lots of different factors affecting my decision, head is completely fried atm

I'm doing A2 this year in Biology, Chemistry and Maths.
Achieved B,B,B AS's last year. Predicted A,A,B for next year.

I was just wondering people's opinions about the situation

[machair]

do pharmacy, you have good enough grades for it. Everyone has to work hard at some point in their life and there's much more opportunities with a pharmacy degree than just being a midwife.

[NoRegrets :)]

I feel like I'm just being lazy by not appplying for Pharmacy but if I miss the grades to get in I will be stuck doing a Biology degree or a Chemistry degree as a back up and I can't think of anything worse If i was able to put Midwifery as a back up I would be happy but I don't think any Universities would even look at me with a Pharmacy statement. Thanks so much for the reply

[1mum]

I also doubt that midwifery courses would consider you with a pharmacy statement, midwifery is very competitive.
I guess you need to decide what's more important to you, does the work of a midwife compensate for the reduction in salary? Though, reading between the lines I'm guessing medicine is your ideal outcome??? If so, study hard and apply for pharmacy with a view to graduate entry medicine (extremely competitive), if you don't get the grades for pharmacy, take a gap year, gain work experience and reapply for midwifery next year.
If you apply for midwifery now and get good a levels I think you may end up looking at the obstetricians and thinking 'that Could have been me!'

[Itdib]

Hello NoRegrets,

To me it sounds like you have your heart set on Midwifery and only you know if you will get the grades needed to get into Pharmacy.

Above all, I would recommend that you are honest and true to yourself, dont try to please others or be unrealistic in your expectations.......

Good luck

[ritchie888]

Your pros and cons are so contradictory. Don't say you would be studying really interesting and intense things but then go on to say you're fed up with lab work.

Also, easier =/= to less respected.

[pixie_xx]

Midwifery is MUCH more competitve that pharmacy. if you look at specific uni's intakes and the amount of people applying, you will see that midwifery is a lot more competitive.

Personally I would say forget the midwifery. There are people I know who have spent months, even years getting enough relevant work experience and volunteer work for the admissions tutors to even consider them for interview. To apply for midwifery you really need to be comitted. I have just applyed, and I have friends on the course atm, and I can safely say, they did not have a life whilst on placement! My previous degree was more academic than midwifery, yet I had more free time than my friends on the midwifery and nursing courses did, so I feel you may have under estimated the degree. You probably wont struggle with the course content like human anatomy and physiology if you are academic, but night shifts whilst on placement gives you no life for participating in university life. I have been there done that at uni, so to speak, so I am ok with starting another degree and not having the whole 'student life' this time around.

You also say that midwifey isnt respected as much, and when I did my A levels I may have said a similar thing. But I guarantee you, if you were to ask the majority of 20-40 year old women whether they respected people doing pharmacy or midwifery degrees, they would nearly all say midwifery (ok well the ones with children) as pregnancy and child birth are both life changing events, and soo many people want to be midwives afterwards, but not so many feel they want to be pharmacists, after finding out about their work.

If you have any doubts for midwifery I wouldnt apply. Some of the nothern universites have 12 places for 1000 candidates applying, so what makes you think they would pick you, over someone who has dreamt of being a midwife and put their heart and soul in to it. Just check out the website SMNET and you will see the passion the ladies have over there.

[Jordenfruitbat]

(Original post by NoRegrets :))
As you can probably tell from the title, I really want to study Pharmacy but I really want to study Midwifery aswel.

Pharmacy Pro's
More respectable job (in my opinion)
Higher salary
Very academic, constantly learning about really interesting things.
Could go on to do research or graduate medicine.

Pharmacy Con's
Will have to move away
To be honest I'm getting a bit fed up with lab work
Will be a constant workload and stress for 4 years.

Midwifery Pro's
Love the job and what it involves
Can study quite close to home and be comfortable.
Won't be as much hard work and can actually have a life while studying.
50% practical, 50% theory.
3 year degree.
Bursary.

Midwifery Con's
Easier degree so not respected as much
Long shift patterns
May regret it later on in life
I feel that if I am capable to do a harder degree I should be doing so.


As you can see lots of different factors affecting my decision, head is completely fried atm

I'm doing A2 this year in Biology, Chemistry and Maths.
Achieved B,B,B AS's last year. Predicted A,A,B for next year.

I was just wondering people's opinions about the situation

Your wrong if you think midwifery will be easier, I know people who have done it or are doing it and it's meant to be extremely difficult, it's also extremely competitive. You should do a job you enjoy don't go for one job because you think it's respected more.

[CatRox]

As a midwifery student, I can tell you that you've definitely under-estimated the difficulty of a midwifery degree. It is considered to be an extremely difficult degree. The work may not be as academically challenging, but there is a lot of it. For example:

I moved to uni on Sunday, 3 weeks ago. The day after I moved in, I began lectures 9-6, every day. After my first day of lectures, I have 4 hours of work to do that evening. For the past 3 weeks, I have had lectures 9-6 every day, including some Saturdays and roughly 4 hours work every evening to do. Next week I start my first placement, for 5 weeks. I will be working 8-8 every day, and on call every night and weekend in case of home births. I will also be expected to carry on with assignments, doing at least 2 essays per week. Once I am on my labour ward and/or postnatal ward placements, I will be doing night shifts as well. For one placement I have 4 weeks solid of night shifts, with lectures on some of the days.

I also get 7 weeks holiday per year, a lot less than other courses. This holiday can be shortened if I have work I need to catch-up on.

This is what studying midwifery is like, and my experience is not an exception or out of the ordinary.

[LauraMxx]

I have the same problem :/ I want to do midwifery in one way because the whole pregnancy topic is so interesting to me, but then i don't know if i would handle the whole labour/pain thing well.
I know this is going to sound bad, but i got 4A's at a level and go to a private school and i think if i choose midwifery people will just think i wasted all my parents money and that its not a respected job or great salary :/

[CatRox]

(Original post by LauraMxx)
I have the same problem :/ I want to do midwifery in one way because the whole pregnancy topic is so interesting to me, but then i don't know if i would handle the whole labour/pain thing well.
I know this is going to sound bad, but i got 4A's at a level and go to a private school and i think if i choose midwifery people will just think i wasted all my parents money and that its not a respected job or great salary :/

The salary is pretty good actually, and it is a very respected job. Midwives have a lot of responsibility. Pregnant women rarely see a doctor for the whole of their pregnancy, birth and postnatal period, so midwives have a lot of responsibility for the wellbeing of the mother and baby. Midwives are also responsible for giving women and babies medication. Some universities, such as Southampton, actually require AAB at A Level to do midwifery.

As a student midwife, the labour ward part scares me too. At the end of the day, I'm actually more interested in antenatal and postnatal, and probably won't work on labour ward once I'm qualified. However, you aren't expected to deal with labour ward all by yourself. Your mentor won't just leave you in the room with some screaming woman, all by yourself!